The Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) is a points-based system. It is useful for assessing and scoring a candidate’s Express Entry profile. This enables the authorities to tank the candidate against all other candidates in the Express Entry pool at the time of a round of invitations.

When a candidate submits a profile in MyCIC, the system automatically assigns a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score to the candidate. It computes the score based on the information provided in the candidate’s profile. A system-generated letter, sent to the candidate’s MyCIC account, notifies the candidates of their Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) scores.

The authorities only issue an Invitation to Apply (ITA) to the top-ranked candidates in the Express Entry pool at the time of a round of invitations.

The Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) Points Allocation System

Candidates can typically score a maximum of 1,200 points in the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS). The criteria for allocation of points:

Awards 460 – 500 points for a core set of human capital factors that drive economic outcomes such as:

Age

Level of education

Official language proficiency

Canadian work experience

Awards 40 points for spousal factors

Awards 100 points for a set of skills transferability or interaction factors that amplify the core set and,

Awards 600 points for candidates who have a validated provincial or territorial nomination and / or a qualifying offer of arranged employment

The website of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) contains a summary of the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS). In addition, the Express Entry Ministerial Instructions carry details of a full breakdown of the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS).

The authorities believe that the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) is a relatively stable component of the Express Entry system. With the passage of time, the authorities might make changes to the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) once:

They undertake refinements and,

Outcome data becomes available

The Changes to a Candidate’s Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) Score

Candidates bear the responsibility for ensuring that their Express Entry profile is accurate and updated at all times. The system also informs candidates that the authorities could potentially refuse the applications if the candidates:

Eventually submit an Application for Permanent Residence (APR) and,

Cannot substantiate the information listed in their Express Entry profile or their Application for Permanent Residence (APR)

Moreover, if the authorities find that the applicants have misrepresented the information in their Express Entry profile or their Application for Permanent Residence (APR), the authorities could penalise the applicants further. Typically, the authorities impose a five-year ban on applicants from submitting any further immigration applications to Canada in this situation.

Situations could arise where candidates go to their MyCIC accounts and update the information in their profiles. For example, candidates could add new credentials or delete some job offers etc. In this scenario, the system will automatically change the candidate’s Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score to reflect the new information. Therefore, the new Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score will remain visible to the candidate in the MyCIC account.

When Provinces and territories (PTs) issue Invitations to Apply (ITAs) to candidates, the candidates’ profiles become locked

Thus, no one can amend the information in these profiles barring specific circumstances

In this scenario, candidates would need to manually recalculate their scores if they have a change in circumstances:

After the Provinces and territories (PTs) issue Invitations to Apply (ITAs) and,

Before the candidates apply for permanent residence

Doing so could impact the eligibility of the candidates

Rounds of Invitations

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) typically controls the number of Express Entry candidates who receive invitations to apply for permanent residence through a system of “rounds of invitations”. These rounds of invitation usually take place at a frequency and in numbers that align to Citizenship and Immigration Canada’s (CIC’s):

Processing capacity and,

Annual level targets

It is worth noting that at the time of a round of invitations, a candidate’s rank in the Express Entry pool has greater value than the candidate’s total number of Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) points. Therefore, if Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) issues Invitations to Apply (ITAs) to 1,000 candidates from the pool, only the top-ranking 1,000 candidates will receive the Invitations to Apply (ITAs).

A candidate’s rank remains relative to that of all other candidates in the pool at the time of the round. Therefore, a candidate’s rank will change with every round of invitations. Similarly, rounds can be general (and include all programs). Alternatively, they could be program-specific (e.g. aimed at top-ranking Canadian Experience Class (CEC) candidates only).

For example, a general round of invitations would denote that all candidates in the Express Entry pool would receive Invitations to Apply (ITAs). However, if the authorities only invited 500 candidates, then the top-ranked 500 candidates would receive Invitations to Apply (ITAs). This is regardless of the programs in which these candidates appear.

Similarly, in a program-specific round of invitations, only candidates in the Express Entry pool who have tags for a specific program would receive Invitations to Apply (ITAs). Thus, if the authorities invited the top 500 candidates for the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) to apply, only the top 500 candidates belonging to this program would receive Invitations to Apply (ITAs).

The specification about the round of invitations i.e. whether the round will be general or program-specific

Typically, the authorities publish these Ministerial Instructions (MIs) only when they plan to hold a round and not in advance.

After holding the round of invitations, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) publishes the score of the lowest-ranked candidate to whom they plan to issue an Invitation to Apply (ITA) in that round.

This enables candidates not having Invitations to Apply (ITAs) to check where their Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score is relative to the lowest score from their round. This would give them a general sense of their chances of receiving Invitations to Apply (ITAs) in future rounds.

Candidates could also use this information for assessing whether:

They should decline the Invitations to Apply (ITAs) or,

They should submit Applications for Permanent Residence (APRs)

This applies to candidates having Invitations to Apply (ITAs) but whose circumstances have changed.